Dr. Monalisa Joshi is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.<a href="/profile/mjoshi">Click here for detailed profile</a>.
The Meeting of Experts for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC/BWC) was held from August 18 to 22, 2008 in Geneva. As a part of the intersessional process for the BWC, this Meeting of Experts (known as MX) was in its second year.
On the afternoon of May 27, the people of Jamshedpur were caught unaware. They were exposed to a dense, pale green, pungent and poisonous gas, Chlorine. This gas had leaked from an unused cylinder lying in the Tata Motor’s water treatment plant for the past 10 years. By the next day, around 150 to 200 people had been hospitalised. The affected people also included company employees and their family members. So far no deaths have been reported.
While WMD hold the centre stage of international politics, its victims often suffer from neglect and insensitivity. Dr. Shehriyar Khateri, a physician, works determinedly for the cause of chemical weapons victim in Iran. He spoke to our Assistant Editor, Monalisa at Bangalore and responded to the questions via E-mail. An excerpt-
1. What is the NGO SCWVS about?
The Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS) is a non- Governmental, non-Profit organisation, established in 2002.
The process of globalisation has been understood as "time-space" compression1. Structurally, the boundaries that separate human conditions are now diminishing, enabled by rapid interaction. Philosophically, globalisation has led to the emergence of global human conscience.
In the post Cold War world, the term Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) emerged as a usable tool. This usage reached a crescendo with the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis and the alleged existence of WMD in Iraq, which became the primary justification for the 2003 invasion of that country. The fear of WMD proliferation has generated grave concerns, given the increasing number and greater intensity of terrorist activities and their attempts to acquire WMD. Efforts to restrain the development and further spread of WMD have received greater focus in this environment of insecurity.
The Chlorine Gas Leak at Jamshedpur
On the afternoon of May 27, the people of Jamshedpur were caught unaware. They were exposed to a dense, pale green, pungent and poisonous gas, Chlorine. This gas had leaked from an unused cylinder lying in the Tata Motor’s water treatment plant for the past 10 years. By the next day, around 150 to 200 people had been hospitalised. The affected people also included company employees and their family members. So far no deaths have been reported.